Monday, May 23, 2022

The 25th Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival With Victor Morton


Three years of absence from the San Francisco Silent Film Festival has only left a longing in Peter's heart. And while The Cinephiliacs remains on permanent hiatus, the return of the best festival in the United States meant a necessary return to podcasting, especially when frequent co-host Victor Morton joining him. In this go around, they marvel at the masters, uncover the unknowns, and celebrate the colors. Watching films across Europe, Ukraine, and Japan, these films once again show us that silent film is not just about finding the old, but seeing anew through the incredible work of archivists, restoration work, and orchestras providing a highlight in the grand ol' Castro Theatre. This might just be a one-off episode, but what better than the Silent Fest to reignite the flames of cinephilia—particularly with fire on screen.

0:00–2:51 Opening
2:51–17:24 Arrest Warrant (Heorhii Tasin, Ukraine, 1926)
18:06-32:25 Blind Husbands (Erich Von Stroheim, USA, 1919) and Foolish Wives (Erich Von Stroheim, USA, 1922)
33:24–48:19 Apart From You (Mikio Naruse, Japan, 1933)
48:25–49:13 Sponsorship Section
49:33–1:01:08 King of the Circus (Max Linder, France, 1925)
1:01:58–1:17:22 Dans la Nuit (Charles Varel, France, 1930)
1:17:56–1:36:42 The Fire Brigade (William Nigh, USA, 1926)
1:36:54–1:38:09 Close 


Notes and Links to the Conversation
—Thanks to the guest Victor Morton and see his reviews of all the films at Silent Fest!
—Learn more about the San Francisco Silent Film Festival!
—Apologies about some of the noise in this episode!
—More on Arrest Warrant
—Peter and Victor previously spoke about Two Days on this episode
—More on VUFKU (All-Ukrainian Photo Cinema Administration)
—Peter recommends the excellent book, Not According to Plan by Maria Belodubrovskaya and Denise Youngblood's Soviet Cinema in the Silent Era, 1918–1935 about some of the industrial conditions in Soviet filmmaking that challenge many preconceived notions, 
—The circus film Peter mentions is Two-Buldi-Two (Kuleshov, USSR, 1929)
The Wedding March was discussed in 2019
—More on Apart from You
—Dan Sallitt's notes on all films by Mikio Naruse
Max Linder at Essanay Film Studios in Niles Canyon, CA
—Richard Abel has written about the difficult celebrity of Linder and his shocking end
—More on Dans la Nuit
—Bilge Ebiri on Bernard Tavernier
—More on the Zhang Yimou Film, One Second
—A bit on the restoration of the film can be found in this HFPA booklet
—More on The Fire Brigade
—Learn more about Handshiegl and other color processes from the silent era
—There's nothing online yet about the amazing work done by the Library of Congress, but here's a small video highlighting their great restorationist, Heather Linville! 

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